Optional headlights deliver IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus to 2019 BMW X5
Sadly, the standard headlights couldn't do better than a Poor rating.
BMW now has four vehicles that have captured an award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2019.
The 2019 BMW X5 has earned the IIHS' best award, Top Safety Pick Plus, the safety organization announced Thursday. In order to achieve this award, a vehicle has to beat a battery of crash tests with flying colors, in addition to scoring well on evaluations of its headlight and crash-avoidance systems. There's a lot of moving parts to the equation, and the IIHS occasionally adds new tests to keep automakers in a state of constant improvement.
This year's new test is the passenger-side small-overlap crash test, and BMW took to it like a fish to water, earning the top rating of Good. It also achieved the same rating in every other crash test, whether it was roof strength, side collisions or the small-overlap test on the driver side.
On the evaluation front, the 2019 X5 did well, but it wasn't perfect. It achieved a top rating of Superior for its crash-prevention tech, which is standard on all trims, and more advanced options earned the same rating. Things were a bit different for the headlight evaluation, though. While the optional Laser Light LED headlights earned a Good rating, the standard LED headlights lacked sufficient high-beam illumination to the side, and the low beams created too much glare, resulting in a Poor rating, the lowest the IIHS gives out.
But thanks to its Laser Light headlights, the all-new X5 earned itself a Top Safety Pick Plus commendation. It's the third TSP Plus for BMW this year, following the 5 Series and X3 . The smaller X2 did well, but not as well, picking up the second-best Top Safety Pick award.
